What would we do without caller ID? It allows us to avoid scam artists, political campaigns and telemarketers when we don’t recognize the name on the screen. On the other hand, recognizing the name, we usually take the call; the caller is trustworthy and the message may be important.

In Psalm 9:10, David wrote: “And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; For You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.” God’s personal, relational name “Yahweh” is expressed in that Psalm.

In his book Every Name of God in the Bible (one of my favorite books, highly recommended), Larry Richards explains God’s name Yahweh, based on the dialogue between God and Moses at the burning bush in Exodus chapter 3. Mr. Richards wrote: “In essence, the name “Yahweh” revealed God as ‘the One who is always present’ with His people.” (p. 25); that’s exactly what David said: “For You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.” That’s the important message: God is always present with us.

Knowing God’s name makes all the difference. We trust Him with all of our needs because He is our ever-present God. We praise Him for His faithfulness, because He’s never forsaken us. Knowing His name, we get the important message: Our ever-present God is trustworthy!

(Join me every Monday of 2016 as I share more of my quest to know God better)

“The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.” (Proverbs 18:10)

Reading this truth not long ago, I meditated on the following:
Running for safety means we are under threat of harm or approaching danger, or being attacked. We run to a “strong tower” because we know where to go; we know where it’s safe. We know that, even though the enemy approaches, threatens or attacks, we are no longer vulnerable. We are safe!

When are we vulnerable?

When (in our thoughts) we allow our problems to be bigger than God.

When we wonder if He really cares about what’s going on in our life.

When we doubt His goodness, His power, His plan for our life.

When we try to figure out the “what if” scenarios.

When we are worried, anxious or stressed.

When we try to do (on our own strength) what we can never do, and what we should let HIM handle.

When we’re focused on earthly “stuff” and not on eternal realities.

When we lament something about our past that we can’t change.

Those times of vulnerability are when we must “run to” the name of the Lord. Not just say it, but cry out to Him! Reading of His character in Bible stories and Psalms; singing worship songs to Him; filling our mind and life with Him; studying what his name YAHWEH means and why that’s relevant to us today; praising Him for who He is. That’s how we “run to” the name of our Lord.

When we know the name of the Lord, He is our strong tower. We run to Him, trust in Him and find safety in Him. We praise Him, along with the psalmist who declared: “And those who know Your name will put their trust in You. For You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.” (Psalm 9:10)